From left; commercial realtor Jon Angel, sausage maker Joe DellaMonica of Milford, Nick DeYulio and Mike Taylor of DeYulio's Sausage Co., check out the company's new space at 1501 State Street in Bridgeport, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The company is moving from Stamford where it has been in business for over 50 years.

Pati DeYulio Oxer, sister of owner Nick DeYulio at the families sausage company on Myrtle Ave. in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The upstairs office looks out over the original Colony Grill, one of their regular customers. DeYulio's Sausage Company is leaving Stamford, where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

Nick DeYulio, owner of DeYulio's Sausage Company stands outside his business on Myrtle Ave. in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is leaving Stamford, where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

Nick DeYulio, owner of DeYulio's Sausage Company stands outside his business on Myrtle Ave. in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is leaving Stamford, where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

A humorous sign at DeYulio's Sausage Company in Stamford, Conn. depicts a dancing Petunia and Porky Pig. DeYulio's is losing its space on Myrtle Ave. where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State Street in Bridgeport, Conn.

Nick DeYulio, owner of DeYulio's Sausage Company stands outside his business on Myrtle Ave. in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is leaving Stamford, where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

DeYulio's Sausage Company is losing its space in Stamford, where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State Street in Bridgeport, Conn. The owner, Nick DeYulio at the current factory on Myrtle Avenue in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

Suasage meat is made into patties at DeYulio's Sausage Company in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is losing its space on Myrtle Ave. where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

A grinder prepares the meat to be stuffed at DeYulio's Sausage Company on Myrtle Ave. in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is losing its space where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

Suasage meat is fed into a stuffer machine and inserted into the cutter and made into links at DeYulio's Sausage Company in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is losing its space on Myrtle Ave. where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

Workers box up sausage links at DeYulio's Sausage Company in Stamford, Conn. on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. DeYulio's is losing its space on Myrtle Ave. where its been over 50 years, and is moving into a former ice-cream warehouse on State St. in Bridgeport, Conn.

The pork oozed out of the stuffer machine's spigot and was quickly inserted into the cutter.

Within seconds, the sharp wheel-like contraption produced one sweet Italian sausage link after another, which were quickly picked up from the conveyor belt by workers wearing white smocks, hair nets and gloves -- the collars and hoodies of their bulky sweaters peeking out.

Owner Nick DeYulio took a step away from his desk Tuesday and opened a sliding window on the glass partition in his narrow office.

"Make sure the thermometer is at 40," he shouted to one of the dozen workers sharing space with several large pieces of equipment in the 700-square-foot space on Stamford's East Side.

Three generations of DeYulio's have chopped up garlic and other vegetables for sausage seasoning, and worked in the offices above the Stamford production room. Thousands of sausages have been made in the tiny, cramped space in the last 48 years. But not for much longer.

DeYulio's Sausage Company, which sells its sausages in supermarkets in seven states and restaurants from Testo's Restaurant in Bridgeport to Fenway Park in Boston, is being displaced from its home base by Stamford's Urban Transitway project. But Stamford's loss is Bridgeport's gain.

DeYulio last week received approval to turn a 13,715-square-foot warehouse on State Street in Bridgeport into his new wholesale sausage factory.

The move is a big step for the small, family-owned company and a major boost for redevelopment efforts in Bridgeport's West Side and West End.

"People see somebody spend that amount of money to come to Bridgeport it sends the message that things are coming," said Jon Angel, president of Angel Commercial LLC, which is handling the contract purchase.

A neighborhood revitalization

In this area, things are happening. Just one week ago, right next door, city officials broke ground on the largest fuel cell electric generating plant in North America. And up the road, on Commerce Drive, a massive, self-storage facility in being constructed next to the former Connecticut Limo site.

"DeYulio's has found a new home here and we couldn't be happier," Mayor Bill Finch said. "This project will create jobs and reactivate a key property in our West End development area."

DeYulio's move will not only add to efforts to revitalize the area, but also means the 8-year-old warehouse now occupied by Dari Farms Ice Cream Inc. won't lie empty like other industrial and manufacturing buildings. Dari Farms decided they needed a smaller presence in the area and put their building up for sale for $1.5 million, Angel said. DeYulio's, meanwhile, had been looking for a new site because Stamford is in the process of taking its Myrtle Avenue property by eminent domain for the transitway, a four-lane road linking the Stamford train station to its East Side.

DeYulio's has since filed a claim disputing the city's appraisal of his property.

"I'm sorry to see them go," said Laure Aubuchon, Stamford's economic development director, when informed of the impending move Tuesday. "We would have worked very hard to keep them. I think the hardest thing is to relocate somebody in a facility that makes sense for them. But I sincerely hope, since we're the ones that disavantaged them -- not intentionally -- that they are successful in Bridgeport."

DeYulio and his sister, Pati DeYulio Oxer, don't doubt that they will. For Oxer, who has become disillusioned with Stamford's expansion into the corporate world and away from the small, hometown feeling she loved, it was a recent meeting with Bridgeport residents that sealed the deal.

"Everyone was so welcoming," she said, standing behind her desk in the Stamford office. "It was a great feeling. Quite different from here."

So far, the move has proved an opportunity to expand its customer base, and add at least 15 new jobs to its existing 26 and even save money. Their new factory they will have space for three stuffer machines, which can each produce 10,000 lbs. of sausage a day. In Stamford they have one machine. The move will also allow the company to partner with other sausage makers. DeYulio's will now package and distribute sausages made by Joe's Missing Link Sausage Co., run by Linda and Joe DellaMonica Jr. who produce 1,100 lbs. of sausage and 20 recipes, from Thai chicken to Moroccan lamb, from their Milford home every month.

Because the property is within one of 17 established enterprise zones in the state, upon moving DeYulio's will qualify for the state's Enterprise Program, which gives them an 80 percent abatement on increased asset value created in its first five years at the site. The property tax bill for the site is now just over $40,000.

The city offered a 98-year parking deal allowing DeYulio to lease a city-owned lot at a one-time cost of $68,000.

"It's going to be terrific for them," said Dave Berman, a DeYulio family friend. "It will be the most updated sausage factory in the area and a lot of other places."

Renovations should take several months, but they hope to be operating in Bridgeport by fall.

"I think it's great," said John Chaves, owner of Chaves Bakery on State Street in Bridgeport, who stopped by Tuesday to welcome DeYulio into the neighborhood. "I don't have anything but good things to say."